We are really sorry we could not empty your bin(s) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (11-13 December) due to the slippery and icy conditions.

If we have missed your bin(s) this week, please leave them out and we'll do our best to empty them later this week and into next week. We will also take away any side waste left by your bin.

We will assess conditions first thing tomorrow (Thursday) morning, and will hopefully start with Monday's missed rounds. Our first priority will be to collect any missed blue or black bins. Missed brown bins will be collected in the new year.

Once again we are sorry for the inconvenience and would like to thank all our residents for their patience and understanding.

All our leisure centres are open as normal today

All of our leisure centres are open as normal today (Wednesday 13 December). This includes Burntwood Leisure Centre, Friary Grange Leisure Centre and King Edward VI Leisure Centre.

Gritting – find out more at www.staffordshire.gov.uk

Our partners Staffordshire County Council are responsible for gritting local roads and streets. To find out more visit www.staffordshire.gov.uk

New garden waste service - sign up from 15 December 2017

You can sign up to our new garden waste service from 15 December 2017. Visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/mygardenbin to find out more and register to receive an email when the sign-up form goes live. Thank you.

Domestic abuse

Both women and men can be victims of domestic abuse. Domestic Abuse is physical, sexual, psychological or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and that forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. This can include forced marriage and so-called ‘honour crimes’. Domestic Abuse may include a range of abusive behaviours, not all of which are in themselves inherently ‘violent’. These include:

Pressure tactics: sulking, threatening to withhold money, disconnect the telephone, take the car away, commit suicide, take the children away, report you to welfare agencies unless you comply with his demands regarding bringing up the children, lying to your friends and family about you, telling you that you have no choice in any decisions.

Disrespect: persistently putting you down in front of other people, not listening or responding when you talk, interrupting your telephone calls, taking money from your purse without asking, refusing to help with childcare or housework.

Breaking trust: lying to you, withholding information from you, being jealous, having other relationships, breaking promises and shared agreements.

Isolation: monitoring or blocking your telephone calls, telling you where you can and cannot go, preventing you from seeing friends and relatives.

Harassment: following you, checking up on you, opening your mail, repeatedly checking to see who has telephoned you, embarrassing you in public.

Threats: making angry gestures, using physical size to intimidate, shouting you down, destroying your possessions, breaking things, punching walls, wielding a knife or a gun, threatening to kill or harm you and the children.

Sexual violence: using force, threats or intimidation to make you perform sexual acts, having sex with you when you don’t want to have sex, any degrading treatment based on your sexual orientation.